So after college and moving far from campus and friends, I've found a lot more time to just chill and watch TV with a beer.

I've grown to like some beers over others, but I've gotta admit, I'm not the best beer taster. So what are your favorite beers to drink and how do you choose what you like?

Also, I'm on somewhat of a budget since I just graduated, so what kind of beers do you think are worth their money?

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"I still go through it in my head," Nowitzki said. "One of my last nights in Germany [last month], I was trying to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I was thinking about the free throw I missed [late in Game 3], about different situations that happened in that series. I'll never forget it. It's going to stay in my mind until we win it all."

I don't think Bud Light is bad...As a wise man once said, "Cheap and gets the job done".

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"I still go through it in my head," Nowitzki said. "One of my last nights in Germany [last month], I was trying to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I was thinking about the free throw I missed [late in Game 3], about different situations that happened in that series. I'll never forget it. It's going to stay in my mind until we win it all."

I don't think Bud Light is bad...As a wise man once said, "Cheap and gets the job done".

At least around these parts, Bud Light is not at all cheap. Granted, I have good options around me here in Dallas, but I can almost always find something like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for cheaper than Bud Light. I find the mass producers to offer the absolute worst value in the marketplace.

If cheap is what you are after, Miller High Life will not disappoint you in comparison to Bud Light--and it will cost a whole lot less. Even something like Milwaukee's Best will perform near as well.

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"I still go through it in my head," Nowitzki said. "One of my last nights in Germany [last month], I was trying to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I was thinking about the free throw I missed [late in Game 3], about different situations that happened in that series. I'll never forget it. It's going to stay in my mind until we win it all."

Myself, I like a hoppy beer. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale will do just fine for an introduction. You should be able to get that no matter where you are. As for value, I think New Belgium does as good a job as anybody. Fat Tire is their best known, but get a hold of their Trippel Ale and you will love the value. A sixer will probably be all you want to handle. I think it's 8% alcohol. I also love their 1554 Black Ale.

Probably the finest beer I've yet tasted is the Schneider Aventinus. It's the kind of beer that is sold by the bottle, though, and not by the six-pack. There are many, many, many beers along these lines...sadly, too few of which I have tasted. If you get into craft and microbrews, you are entering a whole different world.

Oh and this has nothing to do with the original discussion, but I'd highly recommend, if ever you should have the chance, to drink a Red Stripe IN Jamaica, on the beach. Might be the best beer I've ever had in my life. There was something just very right about it.

I think Red Stripe is great. Although, I know I'm feeding stereotypes...but something just seems shady about a beer from Jamaica that resides in a medicine-like bottle.

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"I still go through it in my head," Nowitzki said. "One of my last nights in Germany [last month], I was trying to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I was thinking about the free throw I missed [late in Game 3], about different situations that happened in that series. I'll never forget it. It's going to stay in my mind until we win it all."

If you want a beer that's all about flavor, then try any Trappist Ale (typically brewed by Trappist Monks in Belgium)... They're twice as expensive as most beers, but also twice as good and twice as strong, so you only have to drink half as much...

They're a beer-drinker's beer, so an underdeveloped palliate might not be able to appreciate their full range... The complexity of the flavor ranges from hoppy to spicy to floral to sweet to wheaty to creamy to fruity to just about any flavor you can imagine - each beer is distinct & original ... They're also a bit fizzy, since beer is SUPPOSED to be a living organism (we pasteurize everything to death in America), so be prepared to burp a lot if you drink too much/fast... Also, there's a bit of sentiment at the bottom of the bottle, since proper beer should continue to brew in the bottle (makes me wonder what the hell European purity laws would classify American macro-brews as?)

Any one of those should give you a good idea of what you're getting into - I suggest buying a large bottle of each & taking a weekend off...

And yes, when I'm not drinking beer I prefer to smell my farts out of an empty glass...

__________________
“It’s the Dirk Nowitzki effect on their offense. As a defense, you absolutely overreact to every situation he’s
in -- or even that he’s not in -- and then you lose all sight of your team defensive rules." --Erik Spoelstra

I am a hophead. Give me an American IPA, Double IPA, or Barleywine and I'm probably going to like it. It was definitely an acquired taste - I hated hoppy beers when I first started drinking, but now there's nothing better, IMO.

Other than that, I enjoy good, crisp Bavarian or Czech Pilsners, wheat beers of all kinds (Witbiers, Hefes, Dunkels, and Weizenbocks), American Pale Ales, and Rye beers.

I am trying to expand my palette to enjoy more Belgians and roasted malt (read: dark) beers, but I have difficulty with anything that is really sweet or rich. So far, I can tolerate a good Stout (so long as it leans toward the coffee side as opposed to the chocolate side), but Porters are still a chore for me. As far as Belgians go, the only style, as a whole, that I enjoy are Dubbels, but I'm working my way up towards Tripels and Quads.

Paulander Hefe Weizen -- drink quality over quantity. Wheat Beer though, so you will either love it or hate it -- I don't find many people in between on this one.

Paulaner Hefe Weizen is a good choice. For me one of the best wheat beers. It has a middle portion of barm.

Other good wheat beers are:

Erdinger (less barm)Kaltenberger Prinzregent Luitpold (much barm)Original Schneider Weisse (amber coloured beer)Andechser Weißbier (It´s a beer from an abbey about 10 kilometer from my home town. A "pilgrimage site of beer drinkers", the so called: "Heiliger Berg" (holy mountain). They also brew a bock style wheat bear with about 12% alcohol. As the padre always had trouble with visitors, they stopped to serve this beer at weekends.)

To enjoy drinking wheat beer, you have to know how to drink it. If you drink wheat beer for the first time you could get the impression the beer is contaminated, but it´s the barm. So don´t forget to stir up the barm on the bottom of the bottle with the last leftover of the beer. You have to pour out the beer completely out of the bottle to scatter all the barm. Use the special wheat beer glass:

Don´t serve it with a slice of lemon, which is a taste shamming modification!

The wheat beer is the most popular beer in Bavaria. There is another variety of wheat beer, the so called "Kristallweizen" (clear). This is not a real wheat beer, because the barm is filtered out of the beer.

So in the meaning of the Oktoberfest in Munich:

OANS, ZWOA, G´SUFFA!

__________________"Talk to the claw."
"They're getting 15, 16 assists some games. I dream about getting 15 assists. It's just not possible with the team I'm on." - Devin Harris about top-notch point guards and him playing with the Mavs

"For me, it’s like a kid in a candy store." - Jason Kidd on playing with the Mavs

If you want a beer that's all about flavor, then try any Trappist Ale (typically brewed by Trappist Monks in Belgium)... They're twice as expensive as most beers, but also twice as good and twice as strong, so you only have to drink half as much...

They're a beer-drinker's beer, so an underdeveloped palliate might not be able to appreciate their full range... The complexity of the flavor ranges from hoppy to spicy to floral to sweet to wheaty to creamy to fruity to just about any flavor you can imagine - each beer is distinct & original ... They're also a bit fizzy, since beer is SUPPOSED to be a living organism (we pasteurize everything to death in America), so be prepared to burp a lot if you drink too much/fast... Also, there's a bit of sentiment at the bottom of the bottle, since proper beer should continue to brew in the bottle (makes me wonder what the hell European purity laws would classify American macro-brews as?)

If I'm not worried about the money, my favorite beers that I will consume in bulk, and particularly when the weather is cold, are german double bocks like Ayinger Celebrator, Spaten Opimator, and Paulaner Salvator.

That said, what I usually drink on a weekly basis, and always if I am doing something outdoors in the heat (going to the beach, splitting wood, smoking BBQ, etc... ) are Lone Star and Busch, which are both supremely good tasting, affordable beers. If I'm going to a bar I always try to find out if Shiner if priced the same as other American domestics, and if it is, or is at least close, that's what I'll end up drinking all night, and if not I generally will drink whatever non-light beer is on tap at the better price (usually Budweiser or MGD, now that communist anheuser-busch's sales force has decided to persuade bar owners to replace traditional Michelob on tap with crappy Michelob Ultra on just about every bar and restaurant on the planet).

Aside from that, I also often buy large amounts of whatever good cheapo beer is on sale on any given week, so I'll often commonly have High Life, Pearl, Blue Diamond (still selling at Spec's in Houston for the amazing price of $2.99 a 12 pack), PBR, Cerveza Cuguama, etc... taking up space in my beer fridge, but the availability, pricing, and variety of good cheap beers is highly dependent upon what part of the country you live in, so it's hard to make specific recommendations here without knowing where you buy your beer...

For the hopheads (which I am one as well), if you haven't tried Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale.... you owe it to yourself to try it.

It's only available around Thanksgiving/Christmas Holidays. It starts showing up around Thanksgiving, and by Christmas you usually have to hunt for whatever is left of it in the metroplex Beer outlets.

For the hopheads (which I am one as well), if you haven't tried Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale.... you owe it to yourself to try it.

It's only available around Thanksgiving/Christmas Holidays. It starts showing up around Thanksgiving, and by Christmas you usually have to hunt for whatever is left of it in the metroplex Beer outlets.

Hell, yes. Celebration is the cat's pajamas - I bought a keg of it for my kegerator last year.

For the Sierra Nevada fans and hopheads, they are releasing their Harvest Ale nationwide for the first time this year - it's a fresh hop beer (hops are harvested and put in the brew kettle within 2-3 days) and will be available in 24 oz. bottles, so keep an eye out for it. I've only had one fresh hop beer before (from Great Divide) and it was VERY tasty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Underdog

If you want a beer that's all about flavor, then try any Trappist Ale (typically brewed by Trappist Monks in Belgium)... They're twice as expensive as most beers, but also twice as good and twice as strong, so you only have to drink half as much...

I've got a Rochefort 8 and an Orval in my fridge - just waiting to be consumed on a rainy day or special occasion.

Just remember - for the same price as some crappy American macro-swill (like any of the "cheap" beers mentioned above), you can usually find some good micro-brewed beer from your own backyard:

6 Budweisers - $5.79 / 6 Real Ales (Rio Blanco, TX) - $5.99

Your taste buds will thank you for splurging the extra 20 cents...

__________________
“It’s the Dirk Nowitzki effect on their offense. As a defense, you absolutely overreact to every situation he’s
in -- or even that he’s not in -- and then you lose all sight of your team defensive rules." --Erik Spoelstra

For the hopheads (which I am one as well), if you haven't tried Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale.... you owe it to yourself to try it.

It's only available around Thanksgiving/Christmas Holidays. It starts showing up around Thanksgiving, and by Christmas you usually have to hunt for whatever is left of it in the metroplex Beer outlets.

__________________
"I still go through it in my head," Nowitzki said. "One of my last nights in Germany [last month], I was trying to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I was thinking about the free throw I missed [late in Game 3], about different situations that happened in that series. I'll never forget it. It's going to stay in my mind until we win it all."

lol, that is a lot of favorites...What if you had to narrow it down to 1 or 2?

__________________
"I still go through it in my head," Nowitzki said. "One of my last nights in Germany [last month], I was trying to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I was thinking about the free throw I missed [late in Game 3], about different situations that happened in that series. I'll never forget it. It's going to stay in my mind until we win it all."

Anyone a UFO member at the Flying Saucer? Right now I'm at 100 beers. I've probably had 125ish beers before, so I still have a ways to go before I hit the 200, even if I'm counting beers I haven't had there. I'm a fan of IPAs, wheats, oatmeal stouts, etc.

Anyone a UFO member at the Flying Saucer? Right now I'm at 100 beers. I've probably had 125ish beers before, so I still have a ways to go before I hit the 200, even if I'm counting beers I haven't had there. I'm a fan of IPAs, wheats, oatmeal stouts, etc.

Back when I was going to school in Indiana, I got my name on a brass plate on the wall by drinking 100 different beers to become a member of the 'Century Club' at a bar in Bloomington (it took me about six months of lunchtime and after-class beers to get the honor)...